Retirement
I am writing this as part of my house swapping blog as I have spent several years planning for this event and I think it is worth documenting the various associated topics.
I had often talked about retiring early (at 55) and because I had well-paying jobs in the Engineering industry I was able to make some good financial decisions. I feel very lucky to be in the position where I can support myself in retirement rather than getting a pension from the government but it has not been all about luck as I have worked hard over the years and don’t waste my money on expensive cars or staying in 5 star accommodation when a tent is all I need :)
I am writing this as part of my house swapping blog as I have spent several years planning for this event and I think it is worth documenting the various associated topics.
I had often talked about retiring early (at 55) and because I had well-paying jobs in the Engineering industry I was able to make some good financial decisions. I feel very lucky to be in the position where I can support myself in retirement rather than getting a pension from the government but it has not been all about luck as I have worked hard over the years and don’t waste my money on expensive cars or staying in 5 star accommodation when a tent is all I need :)
House swapping
House swapping in my retirement is a way for me to spend the winter months of Australia and New Zealand in the northern hemisphere’s summer … I don’t like winters!!
It really started several years ago while fishing in NZ and meeting up with another fisherman from the US and chatting about how good life is being able to spend our time on the river fishing. Even though I know how great it is to be able to fish in NZ on some of the best rivers in the world for fly fishing I knew I could not do that all year round and had to look for an alternative for my retirement.
I am not
exactly sure when I heard about house swapping but as soon as I started
investigating it as an option for my retirement (for the winter months) I
knew I was onto a winner. I was fortunate that I had an investment property in
Christchurch that I had purchased several years ago for future use if
I was ever to retire in Christchurch. House prices were very cheap compared to
Australia so was not too hard a decision to make.
It was my mom that purchased my apartment and organized everything for me as I was living in Melbourne (Australia) at the time and it was a year before I got to see it for the first time.
The apartment is perfect for house swapping as it is maintenance free, comfortable and perfectly located in a quite location perfectly located next to a major shopping center … thanks mom.
Two years ago (when I was 55) I removed my tenants and fully furnished the apartment ready for me to use it when I return to Christchurch from time to time and more importantly for me to use for house swapping. Since that time I have only stayed in the apartment once when I stayed with some friends from South Africa that I traveled with around the South Island. When I return back to Christchurch I am not allowed to stay in my apartment and have to stay with my folks … so much for my planning :)
I started using my apartment for house swapping and I soon realized that
this is what I wanted to do for the future and that I could get enough interest
to have 6 months per year assigned to return exchanges. The exchanges I have are all non-simultaneous
which means that we can negotiate the dates for my visit at a later stage. At this stage I have only had 3 wonderful
exchanges and I am lucky that all the people that have already stayed in my
place are really great. Some of the
people I exchange with will be lifetime friends and that has been an added
bonus to the house swapping that I had not realized would happen.
AirBnb
Last year I
felt guilty that my apartment was not used very much in the winter months,
especially when there is a shortage of accommodation as a result of the
earthquake in Sept 2010 from which the city has not yet recovered from. I then had a new idea of using Airbnb to offer
my apartment for rental to other travelers. I had been advised about Airbnb from members
of my TravBuddy site and had joined so that I might use it when I
traveled. It was very onerous to join so
that gave me a bit more reassurance about making my apartment available to
others to rent. Also you could
decline any requests if they did not have references or where I did not feel
comfortable renting. Linking in my
Google calendar that I used for managing house exchanges into Airbnb was great
so that any time that I had assigned for house swapping appeared as unavailable
in the Airbnb site. I would not like to use my apartment too much for Airbnb as
most requests are for only a couple of days and the risk to renting it out to
others is very high compared to using it for house swapping. But it does give
me a bit extra rental to pay some bills and does mean that my apartment will
get used.
Summary of time spent where:
My plan at
this stage is to split my time between 3 main activities:
I may have to come back to Melbourne from time to time and spend some time in Christchurch.
I also want to spend more time in SE Asia but that can be at any time.
Financial strategy
Several years ago I created a financial strategy and keeping this up-to-date has been important as in Australia the rules around Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) have been constantly changing.
There is a lot of knowledge on internet and even though the rules for each country are different the need to create your plan is so important.
You are responsible for your plans, not your accountant or your financial advisor, you need to understand how to make things happen and any limitations you may have.
- 6 months per year house swapping in USA, Canada and Europe
- 2 or 3 months per year traveling with other TravBuddy members to remote locations
- 3 or 4 months per year in New Zealand camping and fishing.
I may have to come back to Melbourne from time to time and spend some time in Christchurch.
I also want to spend more time in SE Asia but that can be at any time.
Financial strategy
Several years ago I created a financial strategy and keeping this up-to-date has been important as in Australia the rules around Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) have been constantly changing.
There is a lot of knowledge on internet and even though the rules for each country are different the need to create your plan is so important.
You are responsible for your plans, not your accountant or your financial advisor, you need to understand how to make things happen and any limitations you may have.
TravBuddy
This site that I have mentioned a few times is also an important part of my future. There are a lot of nice genuine people on this site and it has been great to attend a couple of meet-ups as from these meet-ups you can find other travel partners. Most on the site have a passion for travel and photography and it is easy to form friendships. I have already traveled through SE Asia with TB friends and have made plans to meet many others in the future. Like Airbnb you can get references from others so can feel comfortable about meeting “strangers” although you can chat to any potential travel buddy just to make sure you are compatible.
This site that I have mentioned a few times is also an important part of my future. There are a lot of nice genuine people on this site and it has been great to attend a couple of meet-ups as from these meet-ups you can find other travel partners. Most on the site have a passion for travel and photography and it is easy to form friendships. I have already traveled through SE Asia with TB friends and have made plans to meet many others in the future. Like Airbnb you can get references from others so can feel comfortable about meeting “strangers” although you can chat to any potential travel buddy just to make sure you are compatible.
So now I feel comfortable that I have the right strategy for the future both financially and what I will do in my retirement, both are so important to get right.
Last Month before Retirement
This
deserves a special mention as the last month has been very hectic and emotional
as I make all the necessary arrangements.
I spent way too much money as I know once my regular payment for my work
stops and I only receive an income (pension) from my SMSF that I am less likely
to buy things on a whim like I normally do :)
I bought
myself a Surface Pro tablet (a very thin laptop ideal for travel) as I do not
think I could survive a year without access to a proper computer and to only rely
on my iPad. A bought a new Sony A7ii mirrorless
camera with a 24-240 lens (I get laughed at by my TravBuddy friends for not
having a proper camera) and downloaded Lightroom which is a software program that I need
to learn so that I can manage all the photos in the future.
And just to top that all off one of my TravBuddy friends convinced me to travel to Antarctica in Feb 2017 so I had to put a 25% deposit on the cost of the trip. I also got talked into going to Mongolia and onto the Trans Siberian railway through Russia but that did not take so much convincing. So there was all my travel money buffer for next year gone! Let’s hope I can keep all this gear safe and that it does not get stolen.
And just to top that all off one of my TravBuddy friends convinced me to travel to Antarctica in Feb 2017 so I had to put a 25% deposit on the cost of the trip. I also got talked into going to Mongolia and onto the Trans Siberian railway through Russia but that did not take so much convincing. So there was all my travel money buffer for next year gone! Let’s hope I can keep all this gear safe and that it does not get stolen.
Mobil Refinery
My work is another thing that I struggled with as it is hard to leave a good job and one that I enjoy doing. The money was not too much of an issue but it has always been good to just buy things when-ever I want and never really worrying about if I can afford anything. I will no doubt miss the challenge of working and the interaction with everyone. I think I was making a difference and the work that I was doing was quite unique and perfectly suited for me. Only a couple of people at work really knew what I was doing as my main job but the one thing that most onsite will miss is the extra IT support I provided to everyone when they had problems as I was often the go-to man. Unfortunately there is a couple of hundred people on site and I did struggle to remember everyone’s name.
I have often thought of donating my time and skills to other organisations but for now the next few years are going to be about me.
My work is another thing that I struggled with as it is hard to leave a good job and one that I enjoy doing. The money was not too much of an issue but it has always been good to just buy things when-ever I want and never really worrying about if I can afford anything. I will no doubt miss the challenge of working and the interaction with everyone. I think I was making a difference and the work that I was doing was quite unique and perfectly suited for me. Only a couple of people at work really knew what I was doing as my main job but the one thing that most onsite will miss is the extra IT support I provided to everyone when they had problems as I was often the go-to man. Unfortunately there is a couple of hundred people on site and I did struggle to remember everyone’s name.
I have often thought of donating my time and skills to other organisations but for now the next few years are going to be about me.
Round the World flight
Now I am
down to a couple of days before I take off on my round the world trip LAX-JFK-LHR-DXB-MEL. From JFK (NY) I will be busing to Bangor in Maine
(USA) where I will be generously picked up for the 3 hour drive to Saint John
in New Brunswick. I will trying to bus where-ever I can as that will allow me
to see more of the country side rather than spending time waiting in queues at
airports.
Luggage
Tomorrow I
will try and see if I can fit everything into hand luggage only. The 2 weeks supply of clothes will easily fit
into the hand luggage as I am packing summer clothes and not winter clothes. What may be a struggle is packing my Laptop,
iPad, camera, external drives plus all the other electronic and computer gear
into the other bags attached to my body so that they are not included into the
weight of the hand luggage. You are
allowed an extra handbag … it’s just that my handbag is a little bigger than
most. And I think I am allowed a “bum-bag”
that does not get included … and I hope they don’t spot the small backpack that
I will be wearing under my jacket. And of course my camera will be around my
neck and not included. I could just take
a suitcase but I want to try and travel light and when-ever I take a suitcase I
will pack it with things I won’t use.
There has been a slight change just one day before I depart. I read the airlines carry on luggage requirements and noticed that the hand luggage should be no more than 7kg. I thought that it was 7.5 and that they would often let you away as long as it was under 8kg.
I have luggage scales so I know the weight of all my luggage, and mine was reading just under 8kg.
A few weeks ago I bought a small backpack for use some time in the future, it now looks like that time has come sooner rather than later.
My hand luggage is the normal type with a frame and on wheels, the problem is that it weighs 2kg even before I pack any clothes.
So I transfer all of my clothes out of the "larger" hand luggage and find that it fits into the smaller backpack with room to spare. So I am able to pack a few extra clothes and more importantly the weight goes from just under 8kg to a respectable just under 7kg.
I also pack a few empty bags just to spread the load once I get past the check-in.
There has been a slight change just one day before I depart. I read the airlines carry on luggage requirements and noticed that the hand luggage should be no more than 7kg. I thought that it was 7.5 and that they would often let you away as long as it was under 8kg.
I have luggage scales so I know the weight of all my luggage, and mine was reading just under 8kg.
A few weeks ago I bought a small backpack for use some time in the future, it now looks like that time has come sooner rather than later.
My hand luggage is the normal type with a frame and on wheels, the problem is that it weighs 2kg even before I pack any clothes.
So I transfer all of my clothes out of the "larger" hand luggage and find that it fits into the smaller backpack with room to spare. So I am able to pack a few extra clothes and more importantly the weight goes from just under 8kg to a respectable just under 7kg.
I also pack a few empty bags just to spread the load once I get past the check-in.
 |
| My hand luggage? It will be smaller next time! |
House swapping starts again
Soon it
will be time for my next house swap blog.
This year I will complete 6 return home exchanges between now and
November 2015 when I return to Melbourne for a month before going to NZ.
Next year I am planning 8 return home exchanges.
Next year I am planning 8 return home exchanges.
